Politicking
How to Get Elected, Take Action, and Make an Impact in Your
Community
By Bill Rauch
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
HC, 231 pg. US$23/C$34.50
ISBN: 0-3742-7855-5
The art of politics
By Steven Martinovich
web posted June 28, 2004
When it comes to municipal politics there is probably no better
training ground than New York City. Serving as Ed Koch's
advance man and press secretary Bill Rauch was able to witness
firsthand how a political master operates in the rough and tumble
world of New York politics. Rauch is now a mayor himself -- in
Beaufort, South Carolina -- but the lessons learned in New York
remain valid.
Rauch distills those lessons in the entertaining Politicking: How to
Get Elected, Take Action, and Make an Impact in Your
Community. The challenges facing Beaufort are on a different
scale from those of New York, and perhaps your own
community, but as Rauch proves the same skill sets are
necessary. Politicking is a collection of advice covering
everything from how to get elected, airing your opponent's dirty
laundry to how to avoid defeat and what to do when that
happens.
Rather than a dry manual, Rauch employs a humorous style to
illustrate his points. Admonishments and advice are seamlessly
woven in with anecdotes from his days in New York and
Beaufort. Some of his advice is obvious even to those with no
political experience -- make sure to be available to the people
you want to represent and avoid waffling -- while other tidbits
would seem counterintuitive to readers. For example, aspiring
politicians -- contrary to popular perception about elected
representatives -- shouldn't talk too much. It's a good way avoid
saying something stupid and it allows the voters to speak their
minds.
It's not all high-minded ideals that come into play, unfortunately.
In one jarring chapter that departs from Rauch's folksy tone he
discusses the art of the smear. Timing is everything and it helps if
you can enlist others to do the dirty work for you. How effective
it can be was proved during the 2000 Republican primary in
South Carolina. At the time Sen. John McCain was enjoying a
hefty lead over George W. Bush. That changed, however, after a
whisper campaign during the final weeks of the campaign was
launched that accused McCain of fathering an illegitimate child,
being married to a drug addict and serving alcohol to children.
The end result was a huge Bush victory and the end of McCain's
hopes for the presidency.
As Politicking makes clear, however, politics is about making a
difference. Running for office isn't an ends unto itself, it's about
using the office you achieve in order to make your community a
better place. That's why it's important that many different voices
become involved in the process. Everyone has a stake in the
results and those motivated to make a difference are the most
valuable resource a community has.
"Occasionally, however, an individual comes along who wants to
challenge the power structure, who is willing to try to live by his
or her political wits outside the cozy confines of the
establishment. She may be a housewife who gets steamed up
about the siting of a school and decides to do something about
the city's dumb zoning laws. He may be a retired history teacher
who goes to a meeting and is appalled by some selectman's
rudeness, and decides to run to bring civility to his local
government. ... These candidates often bring with them a simple,
selfless agenda: they seek to improve the city's quality of life for
their constituents."
Though at times Politicking occasionally comes across as a one-
sided testament to Rauch's apparent ability to always occupy the
moral high ground, he never seems to have been on the wrong
side of an issue, overall it is a fine guide for aspiring politicians.
Even those not brave -- or foolhardy -- enough to throw their
hats in the ring will find Politicking an entertaining look into how
and why decisions are made that effect them.
Steven Martinovich is a freelance writer in Sudbury, Ontario,
Canada.
Enter Stage Right -- http://www.enterstageright.com